1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to a navigation system, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for map-updating in a navigation system that automatically generates point of interest (POI) data that is not registered and that automatically generates a POI alias of POI data that is already registered.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a navigation apparatus includes a global positioning system (GPS) receiving unit and map data stored on a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM) or a digital versatile disc (DVD-ROM). Specifically, the global positioning system receiving unit receives a current location of a mobile vehicle from a plurality of satellites, and indicates the current location of the mobile vehicle on a map, generated from the map data, while displaying the map with a travel route of the mobile vehicle on a screen. Thus, by virtue of the navigation apparatus, a driver can clearly know the current travel situation of the mobile vehicle and can be easily guided in a trip to a particular destination.
Such a navigation apparatus stores map information and point of interest (POI) data in order to provide travel information to a driver. In this case, the POI data is information regarding, for example, a location of public institutions, schools, department stores, sanctuaries, parks, fast food outlets, markets, restaurants, etc., and may also provide additional information of these places (such as telephone numbers and addresses).
In a conventional navigation apparatus, POI data is restrictive in terms of a number of pieces of POI data. Additionally, the POI data may not be satisfactorily updated to new POI data. For example, when a particular desired destination does not have a corresponding POI data entry, a user has to search a database to find an entry for a landmark or building that the user knows is close to the desired destination, and then personally finds the desired destination after being guided to the nearby landmark and/or building.
In addition, POI data provided by a navigation apparatus uses standard names for places. That is, in order to input a destination, a user has to know the standard name of the destination. Such a navigation apparatus has several problems arising with POI data. For example, when a destination and corresponding POI data has various aliases, since a manufacturer of the navigation apparatus cannot know all aliases of the POI data, a standard name of the POI data is generally used. In this case, not all users use the same alias of the POI data, and thus it is difficult to search for the POI data in a database. Thus, in order to use the navigation apparatus, a user additionally must know the standard name of the POI data. For example, “Yung-tong Ju-gong Apartment Complex 4” has aliases “Chung-myeong Ju-gong Apartment,” “Chung-myeong Village,” etc. When the standard name, “Yung-tong Ju-gong Apartment Complex 4” is used in order to search, the destination can be found. However, when the aliases “Chung-myeong Ju-gong Apartment,” “Chung-myeong Village,” etc., the destination is not found in the database.
Furthermore, there are many areas to which public access is either not allowed or not easy to get. In this regard, it is difficult to register detailed POI data corresponding to such areas in a database. Thus, a user has to move to a location close to a destination according to rough POI data including detailed POI data, and then personally finds the destination from this location without help of a navigation apparatus. Generally, a database of the navigation apparatus does not provide detailed POI data of apartment complexes and school and public institutions, and provides only rough POI data regarding the main entrance of a corresponding place. For example, when a new apartment complex is built, in many cases nobody can enter the apartment complex except for inhabitants or visitors thereof. In addition, in many cases nobody can enter a company complex except for workers thereof. In these cases, it is difficult to register detailed POI data in the database. Thus, when a user wants to find a particular building of a particular company complex or a student welfare organization of a particular university, the user cannot be helped by a navigation apparatus.
Moreover, when POI data of a particular destination is omitted or is not updated, the POI data may not be found in a navigation apparatus. In this case, a user may have to input a big building close to a destination as a rough destination in order to be guided to the rough destination, and then has to find the desired destination without help of the navigation apparatus. For example, when “Chong-ro Restaurant” cannot be found in a database, the user searches for “Chong-ro Subway Station” so as to arrive at Chong-ro and then find “Chong-ro Restaurant”.
Thus, since POI data contained in a navigation apparatus is restrictive in terms of the number of pieces of POI data and the degree of detail, a user may have difficulty in using a navigation service to find an actually desired destination. Even if POI data corresponding to the destination is registered in the navigation apparatus, the user may also have difficulty in inputting the destination since the user does not know an accurate standard name of the POI data.